B.C. orders closure of one of its offshore high schools

Janet Steffenhagen, Vancouver Sun05.06.2013

The province has ordered the Grand Canadian Academy (GCA) Hongkou in Shanghai, one of two GCA schools owned by Lo, to terminate its B.C. high school program by the end of the school year.Jason Payne
/ PNG

A Hong Kong school owned by businessman Michael Lo has been ordered to stop teaching the B.C. high school curriculum.Fairchild TV
/ Vancouver Sun

British Columbia has decertified one of its offshore schools in a third strike against once-prominent Vancouver businessman Michael Lo.

The province has ordered the Grand Canadian Academy (GCA) Hongkou in Shanghai, one of two GCA schools owned by Lo, to terminate its B.C. high school program by the end of the school year. Under that program, GCA Hongkou has been charging tuition to Chinese students who want to earn a B.C. Dogwood high school diploma to gain easier access to western universities.

Several years ago, the government ordered Lo, then a Liberal party organizer, to close Kingston College and Lansbridge University in Vancouver. But it allowed Lo to continue selling the B.C. curriculum abroad.

Education Ministry spokesman Scott Sutherland confirmed on Friday that certification of the GCA Hongkou program has been cancelled, saying the ministry had received complaints about the program’s management, reports of conflict with the Chinese school hosting the program and concerns about the English-language proficiency of the students.

GCA Hongkou is disputing the ministry’s accusations and appealing the decision.

“We were not told about these specific concerns until we were handed the letter, informing us of the program termination,” Richard Foo of the First Asia Academy said in an email response Sunday to a Vancouver Sun query. “It appears that someone at the (ministry) arbitrarily decide to shut down the program without giving us a chance to address the concerns.”

The school has asked the ministry to allow it to continue teaching its about 50 students so they can complete the program without disruption.

Foo also sent The Sun a copy of a letter to the ministry signed by students.

“When we heard the news of our school GCA will be closed in July, we were shocked by it and really grieved,” the letter says. “Most of us felt very unstable, we don’t know where to go, what to do in the future and our parents were also worried about our courses and our lovely school.”

First Asia Academy describes itself as a sister organization to Grand Canadian Academy (GCA) and says the companies are part of Global Education Village Group, which wants to bridge East and West via North American offshore high schools. It also operates under the name SinoCan International Academy, which says on its website that it has two successful B.C.-certified GCA programs — in Nanjing and Jiaxing — with more than 11 years of experience and support from the B.C. Education Ministry.

GCA Hongkou opened in 2011, and the company notes plans for further expansion.

In 2006, when Lo was a well-connected B.C. businessman and Liberal party supporter, he promised to create a Global Education Village in Richmond as an extension of his Kingston Education Group. But within a year, that plan was in tatters after B.C. investigations of Kingston College and Lansbridge University.

The first investigation was precipitated by complaints from four international students, who told The Sun that they had been promised degrees from Kingston College that it had no right to deliver. A few months later, the company also closed Kingston high school.

Kingston Education Group re-emerged briefly as GIVE Education Group and in 2009, one of the GIVE companies ran afoul of the ministry with false online advertisements claiming it had opened the first B.C. offshore school in the United Arab Emirates.

In his email to The Sun, Foo said Lo has had no contact with the GCA students and little involvement with the school’s operations. “In fact, ever since his run-in with the B.C. government, he realizes that he is very vulnerable … as a result, he has remained very low profile.”

It is only the second time that B.C. has decertified one of its offshore schools, which number 36 with eight more awaiting final approval. Most are in China, but there schools in Thailand, India, South Korea, Qatar and Egypt.

The other offshore school that lost B.C. certification was the Canada India British Columbia Academy in Chandigarh. Sutherland said the school was unable to meet its business and educational commitments due to a legal dispute in India with its business partners.

B.C. recently introduced tougher application and certification requirements for offshore schools following complaints from teachers and other staff.

A Radio-Canada reporter has been arrested for alleged criminal harassment while pursuing the subject of a story. According to Radio-Canada, reporter Antoine Trépanier was arrested Tuesday night by Gatineau police. He was released on a promise to appear in court. Trépanier was called by Gatineau police Tuesday evening and an officer requested that he come […]

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